THE PROVENCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 18 July 04 Prince Rupert relaxes after missing python found in roof (Stuart Hunter)
When the "bump" in the front porch soffit began moving and hissing, Dave Robichaud got out his chainsaw yesterday afternoon and didn't hesitate.
The Prince Rupert resident merrily cut three holes in his porch overhang in a successful attempt to free his missing pet -- a 4.8-metre-long, 57-kilogram, female, deadly reticular python named Spartacus.
"We just found her two minutes ago," a breathless Fran Bild said, after steadying the ladder as her common-law partner Robichaud chainsawed away. "She is back home in her bedroom now. She is fine -- we pulled her out and she didn't get mad or anything."
Locals were feeling nervous after the RCMP issued an alert for residents to watch their pets and small kids after Spartacus vanished Friday night.
RCMP Const. Jagdev Uppal said: "A snake that size is extremely powerful and it could be anywhere."
The call went out for volunteers to search for Spartacus yesterday but strangely there were few takers.
"I don't know anybody who wants to go looking for a [4.8-metre] reticular python," clerk Samantha Tapper of Leanne's Pet Shop said yesterday with a nervous laugh, adding the store sells about six snakes a year -- but no pythons.
Bild said Spartacus escaped by breaking through a window screen in her home in the 100-block 9th Avenue East after being put in her room to "air out" as she had just finished shedding her skin.
The couple frantically searched for Spartacus Friday night -- even looking in behind the broken piece of soffit where she was eventually found.
"We saw a bump and we started tapping and it started hissing and moving," Bild said. "We just took the chainsaw and now we've got three holes but we have our snake back."
The couple has had the snake -- which Bild described as "powerful but docile" and capable of slithering quickly, climbing trees and swimming -- for a few years, but this is the first time she has tasted freedom.
It's unclear why Spartacus escaped when she lives a life of leisure with her own room complete with a kid's splash pool. She even enjoys the occasional dip in the bathtub.
"She is just like one of the kids," said Bild, who also has three kids and three dogs.
She adding jokingly, "We'll take her into her room tonight and give her a talking-to."
Prince Rupert relaxes after missing python found in roof